Jon Favreau says Iron Man post-credits scene was "a bit of a lark"

In case you’ve been in a coma for the last ten years and are just now waking up (welcome back!), the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been going strong now for this last decade, with everything starting with 2008’s IRON MAN (starring Robert Downey Jr. Yes, thatRobert Downey Jr.). The post-credits scene with Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) really set things up to establish the greater universe, but it wasn’t intended to be that way, according to director Jon Favreau.

While speaking with EW, Favreau said that the whole purpose of the end-credits scene was simply to provide fans with a fun little Easter egg. They didn’t know what would become of grouping the characters together if they did indeed end up doing that, but they knew comic book fans would appreciate the scene no matter what.

That was a bit of a lark. I wanted to include Easter eggs that the fans would appreciate and we thought the idea of a post-credit scene it could be fun. It was something that wasn’t really in the script originally. But I thought the idea of Nick Fury being Sam Jackson would be really fun, because when Nick Fury was reimagined in The Ultimates (comic book) they recast him as Sam Jackson, and I thought that that would be a really good nod to the audience. And Kevin [Feige, Marvel Studios executive] was way into it, too. Kevin really lit up. We worked on that dialog together. We were very careful how we selected the words. ‘You’re part of a bigger world now, a bigger universe,’ and ‘the Avengers Initiative,’ laid breadcrumbs for what was to come. We had the idea that we would somehow group these characters together, that was part of what would happen, but a lot of things had to go right for that to happen, so we were really just laying out a basic mission statement of purpose, to show our intent, and thinking that the few people who would linger in the theater would be the ones who would appreciate it most.

The scene in question involves Tony Stark/Iron Man finding Fury in his home, with Fury telling him he’s now found a place in a bigger universe, saying he wanted to talk with him about something called the Avengers Initiative. Of course, the rest is history, and ten years later we are 18 movies in and billions at the box office. Hands down the most profitable Easter egg ever.

I personally didn't know what the scene really meant when I first saw it in 2008, but looking back on it now, it's beyond words to think this fun little scene, at best a hopeful tease, is what kickstarted this massive, unstoppable cinematic franchise that has forever changed the world of blockbuster filmmaking. Here's to ten more years!